Underground hip-hop scene gets Reklez
April 20, 2010
By David Hayes
At first glance, Zac Lauer appears as just another 19-year-old taking classes at Bellevue College, working toward a business degree.
But get him in the music room, whether at college or his own home recording studio, Lauer becomes Reklez (pronounced reckless), underground hip-hop artist.
Since he learned to play the guitar at age 12, Lauer has honed his musical talents in an unlikely direction. Hip-hop became his genre of choice, but as a white kid from Issaquah, he is still fighting an uphill battle against long-established stereotypes.
“There’s something behind the concept,” he said. “It pisses me off to hear the same old stuff on the radio, rappin’ about cars, bitches and the thug life.”
The irony is, Reklez the rapper gets derogatory comments on his MySpace page, accusing him of not enough real-world experience to rap about life in the hip-hop scene.
Lauer believes that’s what will set him apart from others, in an underground scene sparsely populated by white rappers.
Zac Lauer, a 2009 Issaquah High School graduate, is trying to make a name for himself in the underground hip-hop scene by his nom de plume Reklez. therealreklez.com
“I like to have fun with it, come up with unique words not normally used in hip-hop, things I do or see, and then take a twist on the words,” Lauer explained.
The 2009 Issaquah High School graduate doesn’t just have his race going against him in his quest for success. A home break-in at age 13 and a driving incident where he brandished a knife at age 18 has burdened Lauer with a criminal record. He lucked out with no jail time, only probation, but it has affected his application to the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps program he’d hope to utilize to help pay for college. While some artists have made it big exploiting their criminal record, Lauer said he won’t.
“It’s just not a path for me,” he said. “It’s not my image to be a hardcore gangster. Not many rappers go to college.”
While he’s already produced some singles on his home page, Lauer is working on another EP, “Live & Tell,” of seven or eight songs, through his own record company, Ghost Worxx Records. He hopes to have a full record completed by the end of the year.
“I don’t want to be just another artist under another label,” he said. “I want my own label and be self-made.”
Because most people think only of Eminem when it comes to successful, mainstream, white rappers, Lauer said he doesn’t want to seek fame and fortune through that route. If he gains notoriety through the underground scene, like artists Tech N9ne and DGAF, that’d be just fine for him.
“I want to stay true to my underground roots,” he said. “That way I can write, or not, or stick with engineering. Either way, I want to be in full control of my career.”
Underground hip-hop scene gets Reklez
April 20, 2010
By David Hayes
At first glance, Zac Lauer appears as just another 19-year-old taking classes at Bellevue College, working toward a business degree. But get him in the music room, whether at college or his own home recording studio, Lauer becomes Reklez (pronounced reckless), underground hip-hop artist. Since he learned to play the guitar at age 12, Lauer has honed his musical talents in an unlikely direction. Hip-hop became his genre of choice, but as a white kid from Issaquah, he is still fighting an uphill battle against long-established stereotypes.
“There’s something behind the concept,” he said. “It pisses me off to hear the same old stuff on the radio, rappin’ about cars, bitches and the thug life.” The irony is, Reklez the rapper gets derogatory comments on his MySpace page, accusing him of not enough real-world experience to rap about life in the hip-hop scene. Lauer believes that’s what will set him apart from others, in an underground scene sparsely populated by white rappers.
Zac Lauer, a 2009 Issaquah High School graduate, is trying to make a name for himself in the underground hip-hop scene by his nom de plume Reklez. therealreklez.com “I like to have fun with it, come up with unique words not normally used in hip-hop, things I do or see, and then take a twist on the words,” Lauer explained.
The 2009 Issaquah High School graduate doesn’t just have his race going against him in his quest for success. A home break-in at age 13 and a driving incident where he brandished a knife at age 18 has burdened Lauer with a criminal record. He lucked out with no jail time, only probation, but it has affected his application to the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps program he’d hope to utilize to help pay for college. While some artists have made it big exploiting their criminal record, Lauer said he won’t.
“It’s just not a path for me,” he said. “It’s not my image to be a hardcore gangster. Not many rappers go to college.” While he’s already produced some singles on his home page, Lauer is working on another EP, “Live & Tell,” of seven or eight songs, through his own record company, Ghost Worxx Records. He hopes to have a full record completed by the end of the year.
“I don’t want to be just another artist under another label,” he said. “I want my own label and be self-made.” Because most people think only of Eminem when it comes to successful, mainstream, white rappers, Lauer said he doesn’t want to seek fame and fortune through that route. If he gains notoriety through the underground scene, like artists Tech N9ne and DGAF, that’d be just fine for him.
“I want to stay true to my underground roots,” he said. “That way I can write, or not, or stick with engineering. Either way, I want to be in full control of my career.”